American Express Offering Generous Foursquare check-in discounts

If you are an American Express cardholder, you can cash in on big savings by syncing your account with Foursquare. Taking a few simple steps to register on Foursquare and following the prompts to add your American Express card will make you eligible to view offers in your area. To add your card to your Foursquare account, you must be logged into Foursquare. The American Express registration page, located at sync.americanexpress.com/foursquare, can then be accessed. As long as you are able to sign in to Foursquare via your mobile device, you will be eligible for discounts or offers just by checking in at any participating retailer and following the instructions in the offer terms.

The benefit to merchants and consumers alike are what make this program so attractive. The seamless and convenient method does not require integration with the retailers POS system. The offers are alluring enough to encourage many consumers to link their cards to Foursquare. The immediacy of social networking and location-based services speak to a large number of buyers who are increasingly subscribing to the “I want it now” mindset. The former location-based offers, which required customers to print out coupons and have them on hand to redeem them is replaced by the instant closed-loop process of checking in, loading the deal, and redeeming the benefits.

In order to compete in an ever changing and crowded marketplace, particularly in a challenging ecomomy, companies can share a larger customer base by teaming up and speaking to the prevelant “what’s in it for me” culture. With social networking sites and location-based services factoring hugely in the lifestyles of smart, young, tech-savvy consumers, word-of-mouth advertising takes on a whole new high-tech attitude. If a company offers a good value and service, their peers will know about it. If the same business drops the ball and fails to deliver, it won’t be very long before the customer’s negative experience is shared with the world via tweet or status update. This is a powerful tool, and today’s new generation of consumer is well aware of that. By offering the opportunity to sync your American Express card to Foursquare, value and conveniece are added to customer and merchant alike. The sybiotic aspect of the classic win-win scenario is well at play with this new program.

After checking in to a participating merchant, redeeming your savings is as simple as loading the offer onto your American Express card and using the card to complete your purchase. After your transaction is complete, you will immediately be notified via a moblile message that confims your savings amount. The savings will be credited to your statement within two to three business days. This program can be used in tandem with other rewards programs and will not affect points or cash back bonuses. There is no need to scan barcodes with your phone, which will streamline the process and make it more affordable to retailers, thus expanding the pool of business likely to extend special offers or savings.